Design and Fabrication of a MEMS Steam Generator
In MEMS systems, microcomponents are often needed that perform functions traditionally carried out only at the macroscale, such as fluid pumping. Previous work has often addressed this need by fabricating micropumps that utilize external power sources and/or have moving parts. The drawback is that these features have complicated fabrication processes, usually lead to large devices, and often require a large power input for active operation.
This work is pursuing the use of micro steam generators and ejectors to achieve passive pumping action at small scales. In this method, steam with high momentum is generated and used to pump a primary fluid from low to high pressures in a compact fashion, without the need for external energy sources (aside from the source of steam) or moving parts. Such systems may be used as pumps, for example for lasers, and for other applications, such as thrust generation in microrockets and nanosatellites. The current approach offers superior performance, in terms of efficiency and specific work output, to what is available in the literature.
The goals of the current work are the design, modeling, fabrication, and demonstration of a MEMS steam generator based on the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Progress so far indicates that a device capable of producing complete, compact, and uniform peroxide decomposition is achievable, via careful design and modeling. The steam generator will be useful either as an independent unit or as a part of larger microsystems.
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of a hydrogen peroxide-based MEMS steam generator, showing its different parts.
Figure 2: Microfabricated device.
Current Team Members: Feras Eid, Luis Fernando Velasquez-Garcia, and Carol Livermore